SPACE RITUAL

I think is logic the controversie running trough the reviews about how many stars this disc should be given. In fact what is strange is having to review this disc in prog related page. I dont think you can give any solid argument for labeling this disc as prog. The only one is that they play space-rock , and they surely do it! Rocking wild gone space rock ( but not progresive space rock , wich is not only a style inside progresive music, as this disc shows). The other one is they use electronics... and i have to admit thats the best one, but... not enough, they use the electronic tools as a disturving purely mindbending play for shocking with ultra-pitched streams and trance style, it have to do more with techno than to progesive electronics . In fact this is not progresive in the way they use the oposite tactic than the prog groups used ( as Peter Hammill tasks in a earlier review). They first time i listen it i was a bit dissapointed i thought it was a prog disc... and no way. I thought it sounds like punk... its weird. Hawkwind is heavy early punk trance space rock , they were in this time a free festival band and they did space rock just with four chords songs and as maximum just one ( or two) changes. They set on this hard rock basic rythm, and they just keep on and on. Thought is clear they are not virtuosos, Brocks guitar fits perfectly with awesome Kilminsters bass and fantastic loops and disonances of Del mar and company, incredibly pagan lisergic violin-like sounds (sax sounding trough the sound system i suposse) and fantastic gone saxes.They have, as Lemmy says, a thelepatic quality. They are the very begining of trance punk scene. As Moorcock says they were the only band of space rock with electronics that didnt quoted Stockhausen as a influence. Their thing is not high cultured. Is pure low culture without any other pretension than to make you enter as crudely as possibly in a never-coming- back trip. But they did it really well. More than that genius.Even lirically were perfect , with all the moorcockian sci-fi methaphysical just punk speeches and tematic, about the endless space not good or bad not annything infinite inmensurable ( just as Moorcock did in literature, stripping psicodelia of any hope in the good tolkienesque ending and the do-the-good hippies simplicity curiously with a much simplier music). What a wild trip! It just go on and on into the dark, jet full of magic and an amazingly feeling, side of the psychedelia and of the british wonderland wich in their case is Avalon in its full paganism. Pure non technical without pretension paganism infused with some special magic .Part of their hook is that they play totally imperfect punky style, it seem your hearing a local group totally gone practicing for friends (! Thanks god they were not! Their quality for my is clear), forcing it a little is like this local group taked a trip an entered into another dimension ending being more progressive than progressive music with a moronic monolitic rythim...yes weird stuff for sure. But they Rock!!! No doubt! Higlights? "Born to Go" "Lord of Light" "Space is Deep", the monstrous "BrainStorm", "Master of the Universe"...great lyrics even do they are simple, they show the concept with precision...Hamill needs two pages for talking about the same topic ( with much more profussion an excellent results but the line "Has the world gone mad or is it me" in the context of the lyrics and music is simply haunting...and great) Hawkwind travel is one for sure you have to make once at least. If you like psichedelic music you will enjoy of this one at first , and then you end just loving it. I give it 4.5 stars not because it dont deserves the full five stars. Just because its not a progresive record( but for sure is an excellent addition to any prog collection).